As Arizona State quarterback Jeff Sims is slated to start in place of Sam Leavitt against Utah on Saturday, head coach Kenny Dillingham took a moment on Friday to praise Sims’ decision to return to the program this season.
“Jeff could’ve gone to a lot of places and been a starting quarterback and he said ‘no I want to come here and stay in this system here.’ I like it here and enjoy it here and I’m gonna get my opportunity’ and this is his opportunity,” Dillingham told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta.
Dillingham said that he’s been familiar with Sims’ playstyle since the beginning of his college career and he coached against the sixth-year quarterback when he was coaching at Florida State and Sims was at Georgia Tech.
“He makes explosive plays, which he has done in early in his career,” Dillingham said. “My first game at Florida State I lost to Jeff Sims as the offensive coordinator in his first game in college football. Now I’m on his side and the gameplan is not changing and we got a lot of confidence in Jeff.”
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In his first ever college football start against Florida State in 2020, Sims completed 23 of 24 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown and added 64 yards on the ground as the Yellow Jackets beat the Seminoles, 16-13.
Sims has thrown 705 passes in six college seasons for Georgia Tech, Nebraska and ASU.
He previously started for the Sun Devils against Cincinnati last season, throwing for 155 yards and 23 pass attempts and rushing for 53 yards in a 24-14 loss.
Dillingham added that he is very confident in Sims’ ability to step up in Leavitt’s absence and that the team will rally behind him.
“I’m excited for him and I think our football team is excited for him and I think they are gonna play as hard as they possibly can for him,” Dillingham said.
Graham Rossini confident in Jeff Sims’ ability to step in for ASU
ASU athletic director Graham Rossini also spoke highly on Friday of Sims’ ability to step for the Sun Devils, saying the team has adopted a next man up mentality and he has the ability to excel for ASU on Saturday.
“This is where the depth of your roster really comes to play,” Rossini said on Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo Friday. “Jeff Sims is talented at a high Division I level. While he hasn’t played a lot at ASU, he’s been an integral part of this team and could have gone to a lot of places in the last transfer portal but he wanted to come back.
“We’re in that next man up mentality and I can tell you his teammates love him. His coaches love him and they’re excited that he’s got an opportunity to step in while Sam is down this weekend and he’ll be ready to go come kickoff tomorrow,” Rossini said.
“I can tell you his teammates love him. His coaches love him and they’re excited that he’s got an opportunity to step in while Sam (Leavitt) is down this weekend.”
ASU athletic director Graham Rossini details how confident the Sun Devils are in Jeff Sims’ ability to step up… pic.twitter.com/QwqIIGSgmX
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) October 10, 2025
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